When the Snow and Ash are equal in meaning
by VivaNewVegas
Summary: I own nothing.  What if... It's a valid question.  What if can be applied to many situations.  What if it was applied to the night Mana Walker was resurrected, then killed shortly?  What if?  Let's find out.  T for now.
1. What If?

Damn. The bunnies of plot are swarming my defences, I'm not sure how long I can stand against them.

On with the story.

Allen Walker cried.

In the span of 10 minutes, he had mourned the loss of Mana, resurrected him, nearly died, and killed him. What was worse was he said that he cursed him.

Why?

Couldn't he see that he just couldn't stand being without the one person in his life that liked him for him? Allen curled up tighter, tears cooling against his now scarred visage.

He wasn't sure how long he was there, but eventually, through his crying and endless cries of 'Mana, I'm sorry,' he heard someone.

The crunch of gravel sounded the arrival of a person. Allen lifted his tear stained and scarred face, now white hair falling over his grey eyes partially, looking at the person.

He was tall, around 5'10" with golden blond hair. A black leather trench coat covered him from the rain while a hat stayed on his head. He had a pair of leather gloves keeping his hands warm. The solid _thunk _of his boots mixed with the crunch of gravel. He walked over to Allen, crouching down, letting his shoulder bag fall to his side.

Allen tried to shuffle away, but failed. He just didn't have the heart. He didn't care anymore. He didn't care what this man wanted, didn't care what would happen to him.

"What happened?"

Allen cried harder, the question bringing back the terrible memories encountered just a few minutes earlier.

The man sighed. "Come on, I'm sure it's nothing a cup of hot chocolate and a warm bed will fix." Allen continued to sob. He became aware that he was being lifted up.

"Come on, I'll take you to my place and we'll figure out who your parents are," continued the man.

"... he's dead," whimpered Allen.

"What?" asked the man, slightly astonished.

"H- he died. Somebody told m- me I could b- bring him back. I tried, but..." Allen dissolved into renewed sobs, unable to get the point out. The man hugged Allen close, hoping to provide comfort. Of all people, the man knew what it was like to pay a price to see a loved one.

"And he came back, but not as you wanted?" Allen nodded. He finally looked up into the strangers eyes, seeing gold eyes look at him.

"Believe me, I know what it's like to pay a price for seeing a loved one. I won't judge you." Allen cried some more. A neutral part of him wondered just how much he could cry. Surly his small body should run out of tears soon.

"Do you have any other family you can live with?" asked the man.

Allen shook his head. "Only Mana would take me in. Nobody wanted a freak like me," muttered Allen. The tears were slowing down. Something about the presence of the man calmed him.

"Freak? I don't see anything freakish about you. That scar could attract women if you played it right," responded the man.

"No, my arm, it's deformed." The man's muscles shifted, allowing him to get a look at the arm.

He was shocked, but not repulsed. It was a blood red, wrinkled and old looking. The nails were black, almost armoured looking. A glowing green cross was indented on his hand.

"... Well, I personally don't care if you have a deformed arm or no arm at all." Allen sniffed, looking back up to the man's eyes.

"Really?" he asked. It was pitiful the way his voice sounded, so hopeful.

"Of course, I have no right arm. It's all prosthetic from the shoulder down. I'm in no position to judge." Allen didn't smile, but he felt better.

"Come on, you can't stay out in the rain, you'll catch a cold." Allen nodded, but didn't move. "I've got room at my place. Do you want to stay with me for a while?" Allen nodded again. The man started to pick him up, but realized that Allen's wet clothing added 15 pounds to him. in a crackle of red lightning his clothes began to steam, warming his thin body from within. They dried as well, smelling of clean clothes.

"What did you do?" asked Allen hesitantly. The man smiled. "Alchemy. I'll explain later. Let's get out of the rain." The man got up, carrying Allen in his arms, walking back to his place.

"By the way, my name is Edward Elric. What's yours?" asked Edward. "Allen. Allen Walker."

About an hour passed before a man in a gold and black coat showed up. On his head was a black hat with a giant gold ball with wings and a tail. On his face, partially covered by long red hair was a white mask. He looked around, observing his surroundings. He noted the grave of one 'Mana Walker.'

"Damn, missed him."

[A.N.] That's chapter one. Please review!


	2. Curious

Chapter two. I own nothing at all folks.

On with the story.

Two people walked along a road.

One was dressed in a black trench coat. His heavy black boots thunked into the earth with every step, one slightly heavier than the other. On his back was a bag, holding traveling essentials. His hair was a gold blond, tied up in a high backed ponytail, a black hat resting on top.

The other was dressed in a similar fashion. He had a black coat with boots, but they were lighter, and his steps were equal in sound. Snow white hair shone brightly from beneath a black headband, keeping it out of his face. The two of them wore black gloves, hiding their hands. For the first, he wanted to hide his sin, the other, his deformity.

These people were Edward Elric and Allen Walker. For the past 5 years Edward had taken care of Allen after finding him at the graveyard. Quickly learning that his arm was much more than a deformity, he trained Allen to use it. While he didn't have a weird arm like him, he could certainly train Allen physically and mentally, allowing him full use of his arm, both transformed and not.

Allen quickly learned that when Mana had cursed him, it was in fact his eye he cursed. It let him see creatures that hid in normal public. Edward was sceptical at first, not sure if it was the trauma from accident. Later when walking around in town, Allen pointed out a person. After saying hello to the somewhat cold person, Ed shook his hand. It was then he discovered that there was a force out there putting soul bonds on dead people, somehow bonding them permanently. It was such a difference that what it was in Amestris. Back home it was refined, yet not permanent, yet here it was messy, yet would probably hold until the end of time.

Edward had made it his goal to destroy these soul bonds, freeing the trapped souls. After finding out that his arm could do this with relative ease and no alchemy, Allen joined him. for him, it pained him to see the skeletal forms drifting above. He felt a sort of duty to let the souls pass on.

Currently the two were going back home after having travelled to a small town a while away. There were reports of murders, and based on observation, murders co-existed with these demons the two killed.

They were walking through the main gates when they decided to take a swing by the cemetery. Edward would come by regularly, saying a quick hello to his father, who had died only a week before he found Allen. Allen would talk with Mana, saying hello and sorry for what he did.

It was this point in time that a man in a brown coat with a great box strapped to his back with a tan hood happened to see them. Usually he would just look for unusual things, but he was following up on a tip that they might be exorcist.

He watched the two move from one grave to another before leaving. Intrigued, the man walked up to the first grave. It pronounced that the earth beneath held one 'Mana Walker.' The name didn't ring any bells, so he moved to the next one.

'Hohenheim of Light. 1464 – 1915'

Now this had the finder intrigued. A man 450 years old? With the date sometime in the future? This definitely deserved a call into the Black Order. He hastily removed the box from his back and pulled out the phone.

BLACK ORDER

"450 years old, with a future date of death? This is interesting. I'll send a team. For now, just keep an eye on the two."

"_Yes Chief Komui."_

There was a _click _as the line was disconnected. Chief Komui, head of the Black Order and the science department, sighed. Somehow he knew things were going to get interesting. He moved a great wad of yellowing papers out of the way, finding his speaker built into the desk.

"Reever, could you please send up Lenalee and a Finder? I need them to investigate something."

"_Right away Chief," _came the response. Komui sighed. The winds of change were approaching. Whether they were for good or bad was a whole other problem.

A few minutes passed before Lenalee walked into the office.

"Lenalee, I need you to go investigate something in Germany. It's probably nothing but a typo and an overactive imagination of a finder. According to reports there are two people that might have innocence. As for the typo, a gravestone is in the same locale, yet he apparently lived for 450 years, and died in the future. It's probably just a series of coincidences, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Sure. Is anyone else going with me?"

"No, just yourself. A finder will go with you, but the mission isn't enough of a priority."

"Ok, bye." The green haired girl turned and left, heading to the boats. Komui sighed. It was a long day and he hadn't had coffee from his bunny bug yet.

LATER

Lenalee walked into the town. It was smaller, the only notable thing being the graveyard and shipyard. She decided to go and check the morgue. Better to investigate on the gravestone marker.

She walked quickly, her green coat hiding the exorcist clothing beneath. When she got there a man was carving out a blank tombstone.

"Excuse me, do you work here?" she asked. The man looked up. He had black hair with green eyes like jade.

"Yes, I run the place, need a marker?" he asked almost casually.

"Actually, I was curious about an order of yours. It looked like a typo." The man smiled.

"Yes, you would be asking about that 'Hohenheim of Light.' It was a strange order. I must have asked 10 times, making sure the date was correct. Eventually I could see he was getting mad, so I had him write it down. A quick check later and I was sure he wanted the date. I'm not sure why he picked those dates, seems a waste of marble. In the end, he got what he wanted, I got paid, and from what I understood, his father wanted it. It's one of the stranger orders certainly." Lenalee nodded before leaving the man to his work.

She headed over to the cemetery, wanting to confirm the headstone before looking for the two people of interest.

"Hmm, it's true. 450 years old. What's this?" Her eyes were drawn to some unfamiliar looking writing. It looked vaguely Chinese, but only in the brush strokes. Besides that, she recognized nothing of it. Nothing translated.

She took out some paper and a pencil, making a rough rubbing of the script. Pocketing the paper, she headed over to where the finder was waiting.

"Toma, could you ring up the Black Order? I need to report something." The finder nodded, pulling the metal box off his back. He pressed a few buttons before handing the receiver over.

"Hello? This is Lenalee, who am I speaking to?"

"_This is Reever. I assume your reporting from your mission?"_

Lenalee relayed what had happened in terms of the grave marker.

"_Hmm, interesting. I'll let Komui know. Listen, could you do a sort of double wammy mission?" _She frowned.

"And that means?" she asked, curious.

"_We've had reports of a town nearby with something strange. We're not sure, but Innocence is probably involved. It's got a higher priority than your current mission and it seems a better use of resources to just send you rather than Kanda. He's in a mood and I don't want to get him even madder. Could you do that?" _

"Sure. It doesn't look like the two people are here right now. I'll go check it out." Lenalee hung up the phone, letting the finder place the contraption on his back.

"Well, we're going to a new mission. Something about strange reports. Reever didn't exactly go into the details, but it's taken priority over this mission." Toma nodded.

[A.N] There we go, chapter 2. Hope you had fun.


	3. Innocence

Alright, a review submitted asked if this was after the movie. No, it isn't. This is after Brotherhood in fact. I'll let you figure It out.

On with the story.

Edward walked towards the town. Allen and himself were heading there because something strange was happening. The pub he visited had been getting a call for 10 barrels of red wine every day for the past month. Needless to say, they took an interest in it.

So far they were nearly there, the city wall visible in the distance.

"So, what do you thinks going on with the city?" asked Allen. His voice had a cheerful disposition to it.

"Well, it could just be Octoberfest gone crazy, or something genuine. We've never dealt with something like this though. What do you think might happen?"

"Well, it might turn out to be a few murders or prank calls, but either way, we're going to find out." Ed nodded. It was defiantly deviating from their normal routine, destroying the demons that only Allen could see.

But hey, maybe they needed some deviance from the routine.

The two arrived at the main entrance, seeing that there was only one apparent way in. Near the side was a man in a tan coat and hood, bandages covering his face. He seemed to be just sitting there, waiting.

"Somebody's off their rocker," muttered Ed. Allen nodded, grinning. Edward always made something strange sound funny.

The two walked up to the arch. Allen walked through, only a green glow surrounding him. With Edward though, it looked far differently. Where his body touched the invisible wall, red lightning flashed, arcing over his body. It increased as his body entered the barrier, the last few ropes of it wrapping around his leg.

Toma stared. Well, things might start to get more interesting.

Edward walked into the city. Immediatly he noticed that there were people everywhere. Much different than from outside.

"Well, something strange is going on. Did you feel anything?" asked Allen, glancing around.

"Well, just a bit of intense flesh burning from whatever strange portal was there. That's all. How about you?" Ed said this information offhandedly. While he was doing that, he pulled out his silver pocket watch, glancing at the clock inside. "Running out of time," he muttered.

Allen frowned. Ever since he had been found by Ed, he always glanced at the pocket watch, always saying the same thing.

"Well, let's go look around, see what's going on. Let's meet up at that bar later." Ed pointed towards a wood building with a sign declaring its business.

Allen nodded, heading off randomly in one direction. Ed headed in another.

2 HOURS LATER

Ed stumbled into the bar, slightly tired. His searching had proved fruitless, instead only yielding the less than strange circumstances of the town. Mostly including a woman named Miranda who had a penchant for bad luck. That was about as interesting as things got from what he could tell. He hoped Allen had better luck.

Seeing Allen's posture at the booth, it was similarly defeated. Ed sat down, the wood groaning slightly under the weight of his automail bulk.

"So, I'm going to guess that with both of our postures, we we're both unsuccessful with finding anything of interest that could lead us to the information as to why this town has been ordering 10 barrels of red wine a day for a month?" Ed nodded, yawning. He flicked his pocket watch open, repeating the phrase, snapping it shut with a _click._

"You never have told me what that pocket watch does," remarked Allen, sipping some iced tea he had ordered.

"Maybe when you're older, I'll explain." This is usually where the conversation ended, Edward just dropping the topic completely.

They ordered some food, well, a lot of food. Allen with his parasite type innocence, and Edward with his alchemy required vast amounts of food.

They ate quickly, finishing their meal when things got real interesting.

First, a woman entered, looking just as beat as they did. She had a dark green dress on, almost the same color of her hair. Violate eyes occupied her skull while green boots covered her feet.

She sat down at a table, ordering something to drink. Another woman entered after a few minutes, sitting down across from her. They began to talk, the second woman obviously on the familiar knifes edge of insanity.

At that moment, Allen stiffened. Ed saw his eye change from its usual silver color to the black with red targeting circle.

"The four along the bar," he murmured. Ed nodded, taking note of them. His hand clenched in preparedness. The first girl seemed to be wary of them. It was at that moment that they stood up.

"Here we go," muttered Ed.

The first four men stood up in perfect synchronisation. The girl stood up. The weirdest thing happened. Ed assumed it was something perhaps like Allen's arm?

They flared green, burning around her legs until only a small green flame rolled off of each boot. Allen activated his arm, it forming into a great metal object ending at his shoulder with green energy. Edward just cracked his knuckles.

"Well well, some more messy soul bonds. Off to create mayhem and destruction are we?" asked Ed. The statement sent the beings into motion.

All of them seemed to split open along their backs, metal piping and struts twisting around and into shapes. Oddly they were not of the regular shape he was used to, a great round ball with guns and a hanging tail. Instead, there was one that clung to the ceiling, looking like a giant balloon. The second was most aptly two double blades on a peppershaker. The third was some sort of pumpkin head thing, while the fourth looked like a giant freeze.

"Hmm, Soul Bond, that's something we haven't been called before," muttered the peppershaker. The first girl was looking at Allen. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Allen Walker, is that important right this second?" he asked. The girl faltered.

"So, what's a couple of monsters like you doing in a mildly strange place like this?" asked Ed. Pumpkin head answered.

"Give us the innocence and your deaths will be quick!" it exclaimed. Ed frowned. "Again, Innocence, what is that? You always go on about this 'Innocence.' What on earth is it?" asked Allen, the question on Ed's mind as well.

Ed decided that the dialogue was getting too long and dived right in. Without any sort of weapon, he kicked the balloon thing on the ceiling, destroying it in a flash of light.

"Watch out, he's a bit harder to kill!" shouted Ed over the noise of the explosion. Allen nodded, swinging his arm. One of the things, freeze, blocked it, while pumpkin head screamed. Ed clutched his ears as a high intensity sound wave assaulted his senses. Dimly he was aware the girl had taken the woman away, keeping her safe.

Then, in a loud, booming, yet almost childish voice, everything stopped.

"_No no no! You can't have too much fun yet! Now get back here!" _commanded the voice. Fearfully the demons vanished, leaving Edward and Allen dumbstruck.

"What just happened?" asked Allen, looking around. Edward looked around. "I'm not sure, but something tells me we've just gotten ourselves into a shit storm of problems. All cause it was Octoberfest." Allen grinned at that. He brushed a few strands of white hair from his eyes, stuffing them back under the headband.

It was at that moment that boot girl flew... flew?... flew back into the restaurant, entering through a destroyed window.

"Who are you?" she asked, slightly wary.

"I'm Allen Walker and he's Edward Elric, my second adopted father." Edward nodded, a bit of pride creeping into a grin.

"Second? So you've had three fathers?" she asked, confused. Certainly having an adopted father was interesting, but two? That was interesting.

"Yeh, before Edward found me, I was living with Mana Walker. He adopted me when I was just abandoned by my parents." There was a period of silence.

"Why did they abandon you?" she asked, curious. Something told her it was because of something she saw earlier.

Allen reluctantly pulled off his left glove, showing her his deformed hand. She didn't pay attention to the reddened and dried skin, but instead the glowing cross on the back of his hand.

"Hey, you have innocence!" she exclaimed. Ed frowned.

"Well, that might explain why those demons go after us," remarked Ed. Allen nodded, pulling the glove back on.

"Do you have innocence?" she asked, looking at Edward.

Ed shook his head. "Nope, but what I have is just as good."

[A.N.] There we go, all done. Chapter... 3 I believe. Hope you enjoy.


	4. The plan

And chapter 4.

On with the story.

Edward scanned the crowed of people gathering around the circus tent. Allen was balancing on top of a ball with a pumpkin on his head while juggling. He had to hand it to him, he had some skills.

It had been discovered that there was something rewinding the town back twenty four hours every day for the past month. This woman, Miranda, was apparently the only person who lived each day separately from everyone else. Hence her knifes edge of insanity state. Ed wasn't sure, but he thought he remembered her saying something about living each day meant dodging the snake.

Yes, she might be too far gone.

So, Allen and Edward decided that they would help Lenalee out with her search for this 'innocence.' Ed's initial assumption was that Miranda might have something to do with it. So they decided to boost her self confidence by helping her land a job. Apparently the owner of the circus had already fired her 28 times. Yikes.

Edward turned his head after hearing a "AHHHHH!" from one Miranda Lotto. She was on her knees, the circus owner yelling at her for being stupid.

"You need eyes in the back of your head! And there you let the money get stolen. Get out of my sight," raged the owner. Ed frowned. This probably wasn't great for her self esteem. Ed noticed someone running away from the scene, a basket clutched in his hand.

"Really? Petty thievery? It's sad what people resort to for a few bucks." With that he gave chase, Allen and Lenalee following close behind.

Ed didn't use his alchemy to gain an advantage, since he wasn't sure how people would take the earth moving against them.

They chased the man down an alley, it ending in a high brick wall.

"Alright, just hand over the basket and we won't cause you undue necessary pain," commanded Ed.

"Edward," asked Allen.

"Yes? Something wrong?"

"He's a soul bond." Ed looked at Allen, seeing his eye. He looked over to the man. As if on cue, he began transforming into the giant freeze.

"Ah," was all Ed said. The demon, or 'Akuma' as was known by Lenalee, breathed vold air over everything, making everything covered in a thick sheet of ice. That was going to be a problem. At the same time, it placed its hands over the ice, two glowing pictures taking form. Ed recognized it as an 8 point transmutation circle. He didn't have time to observe it, for the other two 'Akuma' rose out. Ed recognized them as peppershaker and pumpkin head.

"PANG VOICE!" screamed the pumpkin head Akuma.

"FLYING SYCKLES!" shouted peppershaker. High intensity sound waves blared forth, shattering the ice beneath Ed, Allen and Lenalee, while the attack from the peppershaker knocked knocked Edward off his feet while he clutched his ears. He flew backwards, slamming the back of his head on the ice and concrete. His world went dark.

When he woke up, he was in something other than the alley.

It was a mix of dark purple and black, with floating candles everywhere. Looking around, he gasped. Allen was lying against a wall. His arm was activated, but huge, thick bolts were drilled through it into the wall. Ed felt the blood leave his face at the sight of the bolts. They weren't exactly surgically drilled into place. Looking at himself, he saw his predicament. He was chained to a wall, hands clamped above him to thick manacles. A quick check proved them to be titanium. Nothing he couldn't handle. But he should hold off for a second until the whole situation was resolved.

He noticed Allen groaned, signalling him waking up.

"What happened?" he groaned, currently oblivious to his arm. "Miranda!" he exclaimed.

Ed followed his gaze, landing on Miranda, tied to her clock. Weird.

Allen then noticed the condition he was in.

"Your awake!" announced a voice. Ed followed it, as did Allen.

"Hey, aren't you the girl from the tent?" asked Ed. The girl looked at Ed. She had blue spiky hair with similar coloured eyes. Her skin was a pale white. Ed noticed that she was wearing Allen's jacket.

"Why yes, yes I am. Road Kamelot, pleasure to meet you," she said, doing a little curtsy.

Ed noticed there was a person in a chair next to Road.

"Lenalee!" exclaimed Allen. Said girl was very different from before. She had a wine coloured dress on with straps that went around her neck. Her hair was now done in some sort of duel curl that dwarfed her head. Her eyes though, were clouded, almost distant. Ed recognized the look. It might have been brought on differently, but he knew it all the same.

Out of nowhere, Freeze popped out from nowhere. "Watch your tongue! She's Mistress Road's doll now!"

Ed frowned. He was getting a weird feeling from the girl. Something familiar, but he couldn't place it. "She's not a Demon," stated Allen.

"No, she isn't. She's something else, something that I know," muttered Ed.

"Well of course silly! You're a Noah, just like me!" exclaimed the girl. Ed frowned. "A Noah?" he asked, confused.

"Yup! Only we have gold eyes like yours!" she exclaimed. Ed thought. Memories flashed across is mind from the gate.

The Noah, originally a being that earned the right to be separate from the gate, to never be under it's influence. But it rebelled against Truth, so Truth punished. Let it live, but in pieces. Hence, the Noah, plural, were born. Another punishment was to never stay in the same body. Their memories and souls would move from person to person, only taking over if they were compatible. Truth marked them with gold eyes and black skin, but they developed the ability to hide in normal public. Truth didn't care about them anymore.

Now, Ed had a choice. He could go along with this accusation, pretending to be a Noah, or he could stick faithfully with the situation.

He made a quick glance to Allen, who was looking at him, confused. Edward grinned. With a red flash, the manacles exploded, letting him drop a foot onto the ground. More red lightning arced around him, his flesh turning into black rock.

"Now I remember, the memories were just backed up. Pleasure to meet you Noah of Dreams, call me Edward, Noah of Truth."

Road stared at this Noah. He was now bald, thin red lines traced over his face. His teeth were pronounced, large canine like ones jutting from beneath upwards. His eyes were black voices with a small pinprick of white in each.

"Nice to meet you, Lord Millenium will be pleased to meet you," she said, smiling. Ed gave a small bow, hard black skin still covering him.

Allen... he wasn't sure how he felt. When Mana died, Edward was there, helping pick him up. With no understanding of how his innocence worked, he helped Allen expand his knowledge with it. Throughout his whole life it was filled with abandonment. First his real parent, but he was too young to remember, then with Mana and any friends he knew that were his age, either died or avoided him for his deformity. And now Ed, Edward was apparently a Noah. He wasn't sure what that was, but it sounded bad.

"So, since you found the new Noah, why don't we go greet the Earl? Get to know him?" asked Ed. He was trying to get Allen, Miranda and Lenalee out of here. All part of the plan.

"Well, we should, but we have to destroy this Innocence and his. Lord Millenies orders," drawled Road. Ed frowned, not that you would know what with his face in a stony mask.

"How about this, I'll take care of these three while you head on over?" asked Road. Ed placed his hand on his chin in thought. "Sure, I've just got to go get something. Find me when you're done here." With that, Ed waved his hand.

Red sparks flew everywhere, centering onto an electric rectangle. Slowly, it rose into the air. Beneath it, stone followed. It rose slowly, forming into a set of double doors without frame. When it stopped, it was 10 feet high with a picture of a tree on it with writing in unfamiliar script to everyone but Edward. The groaned open, only Ed not flinching backwards from the feeling of _wrongness _coming off the doors in waves. Edward stepped through, small black hands coming out and wrapping around his limbs in an almost familiarity. When he disappeared in the inky blackness, Road didn't notice a small stray spark running over to Allen, running along his arm and putting fractures in the bolts.

[A.N.] There you go, chapter 4 I think. Hope you had fun.


	5. Manipulation

Chapter 5. Hope you have fun.

On with the story.

Edward stepped out of the gate, into a small field, just outside of where he lived. He allowed himself a moment to just breath, taking the situation into account.

Now then, if he wanted to get things to work in the way he thought of, he needed to so some repair work with Allen and himself. He was fairly certain that he knew it was a bluff, hence the grin, but he couldn't be too sure. Sometimes he seemed like such a fragile kid.

Out of habit, he pulled out the pocket watch emblazoned with the Amestris flag on the front. Clicking it open, he glanced at the face. "Hmm, I need more time," he muttered, clicking it shut.

At that moment, he felt a shift. Turning around he saw a red and black chequered door with a gold frame rise out of the ground. It opened, feeling far different from Ed's mode of transport. Road popped her head out.

"You coming?" she asked almost impatiently. Ed smiled. "Of course, lead the way." Ed turned towards the door and stepped through.

When he emerged, it was in some sort of dining room.

"Ahh! Road is finally here with the new Noah!" eclaimed an elderly voice. Ed looked at the head of the table. The details began to slowly pour into his brain from the gate.

"The Millenium Earl. The person in charge of the other Noah's. He ran the show, being a capable master of spells and dark matter.

Tiki Mikk. The Noah of pleasure. He has no specific aims in life, but leads two lives. One as a Noah, and the other as a mine worker.

Skinn Bolic, a person who for all intents and purposes is the same as Sloth, but with a few more IQ points than Sloth.

Lulu Bell, the Noah of Lust. An extremely good tactician, never making up bad plans or acting on them. It either happens perfectly or it doesn't.

And last, Jasdevi, or Jasdero and Devit. The Noah's of Bonds. They are the same thing just in two bodies. Their fun loving, yet with a crazy tiwst.

And to his left was Road Kamelot, the Noah of Dreams. Takes a sadistic pleasure in torture, loves the taste of blood and can manipulate a person's mind.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Edward Elric, the Noah of Truth," introduced Ed, bowing as he turned his body into a state like Greed, all covered in alchemical carbon. When he had first found out he could do this, he was worried about his automail, but apparently what happened was during the shift, flesh replaced metal, then became harder and stronger. It reverted back when done.

"And what can you do? Tell fortunes?" asked Tiki. He was in fact interested in what this Noah could do. Especially after seeing this transformation into a black rock with red lines all over.

Grinning, even visible through the carbon face, he chuckled evilly.

"What can I do?" asked Ed, malice dripping off of every word. The twins warily shifted an inch away in their seats.

His pinpricks of eyes moved from person to person. Even though they had impassive expression, except for Road and the twins who were either worries or interested, they watched.

"This," he grinned. In a flash, his hand shot out and wrapped around the face of the nearest Akuma servant. Red lightning exploded around his fist, arcring through the Akuma. A purple cloud appeared, everyone realizing this was the Akuma soul. The red lightning quickly pulled it into Ed's hand, before his fist crushed the now dead machine. It crumbled into dust.

But Edward wasn't done yet. He pointed his hand at the table, firing off red lightning. It struck the table, dancing into a pattern. Just as the circle finished, purple lines spread through the floor. Where they travelled, black hands reached out and grabbed the table, tearing great chunks out of it and into the now ominous eye in the center. By now even the Earl had jumped out of his seat and was standing near the door, a happy grin on his face at the sight of this power.

Finally the table was consumed and the light faded, leaving the room lit by candles. "Satisfied?" asked Ed, his skin returning to normal. Oh yes, he did a number on these Noah. Tiki had dropped his cigarette, the twins were staring where the table was, Road was standing close to the Earl, Skinn was gaping. His mental capacity did not expand that far. And of course the Earl, his face held extreme pleasure that this ability was not his.

Oh how wrong he was. Edward was nobody's pet.

"Splendid! Splendid! I'm glad we caught you! You'll be a great addition to the war!" exclaimed the Earl. "But I must ask, can you do that with only Akuma souls?" he asked. Ed grinned evilly again.

"Nope, any soul, human or Akuma. I chose that one cause it looked at me funny." What Ed didn't tell was the vast store of energy at his disposal. Vaster than comprehensible.

"Now, there is one matter I wished to discusse," began Ed. The Earl tilted his head. "You see, for the past few years, before I got my memories, I was raising a Kid who had innocence in him. Now, I figured that I managed to fight off the Noah inside me and managed to escape. If it works, then you will probably get your own spy inside the Black Order." Ah yes, looks like he had the Earl hook line and sinker. He could see the ideas dancing around inside his head.

"But of course I need to act quickly here, there's only so much time that I can waste here before he becomes hateful towards me. So you need to make a decision. Should I head back?"

The Earl stood in silence. "Well, I don't see why not, from what I see you can survive. But I have one question." Ed waited in silence, his arms crossed.

"What do you think of humanity as a whole?" Hmm, how to respond.

A series of memories came to Ed. Combined and they would secure his position here.

In the voice of Truth, a billion voices in perfect synchronization speaking the same thing without moving his lips at all, he spoke. The voice boomed around the walls, reverberating off of eardrums. It cracked the Akuma, freeing their souls to the Gate from where they came. It blew out candles, leaving a wisp of smoke.

"_**Humanity is nothing but a power source for myself."**_

LATER

Allen groaned, slowly waking up.

"Ahh, good! Your awake!" announced a voice. Allen turned to see two people. First was a strange man with a weird hat. He was holding a giant drill.

Beside him was Edward. Before Allen could protest, Edward winked. Allen got the message.

"I'm Chief Komui from the Black order. I came when I Miranda Loto called, saying you and Lenalee were unconscious. I hope you could shed some light on the situation?" With a glance to Edward, Allen explained what happened, earning a few surprised glances from Edward. When he was done a recount of the events, he asked about Lenalee.

"Is she alright?" he asked.

"Of course she is!" exclaimed a new voice. The trio turned to look at a read haired person with a green headband and orange scarf.

"And you are?" asked Ed.

"Lavi Bookman! But you can call me Lavi." The three nodded, right before a small old man resembling a panda kicked Lavi in the face.

"You idiot! You don't go revealing your name to random people!" shouted the old man, foot still in Lavi's face.

"Relax old panda, I didn't say anything. Beside's I'll be taking over soon for you anyways." Another foot.

"You couldn't take over cooking rice you greenhorn!"

The man straitened himself. "I have no official name, but you can call me Bookman." The three nodded. "As for Lenalee, she suffered temporary nerve paralysis. She'll be alright, but she needs some time to recover. Allen nodded.

"Oh, Allen. A woman named Miranda Lotto gave me a letter to give to you. She said she didn't have time to see you leave." Komui handed Allen a letter. He read the script quickly, something he had learned from Edward how to do, before folding it up.

"Well, I'm going to check on Lenalee, Edward here needed to talk to you about something. He didn't say what." With that, the science officer left along with Bookman and Lavi, leaving Edward and Allen alone. At once, a red spark flew, healing Allen's stabbed eye.

"Thanks, now, care to explain that?" asked Allen, referring to his 'betrayal.'

"Well, I saw an opportunity to gain some info on what this group was. Suffice to say all thanks to a one in a million genetic chance my gold eyes got me in. A bit of alchemy later and I've got their leader drooling at the sight of my power. Now I'm a 'spy' for this Noah clan." Allen nodded.

"Besides, would I really leave you defensless at the hands of a sadistic girl?" asked Ed with a grin. "I mean really, she might have had a whip! Lord knows what cruel sadistic pleasures she could have involked! I'd never leave you... without a plan in place." Ed grinned as Allen blushed. Despite the Noah having stabbed his eye out... temporarorily... the picture Ed spun made him blush profusely.

"So, moving on, how did you gain their trust?" asked Allen, hoping to divert the situation.

"Well, you know where I send the garbage every time we get back home?" Allen nodded. Ed was silent. "Ahh, I get it," finished Allen. Ed nodded.

"I sent their table there. It was a nice thing too, solid black oak."

[A.N.] There you have it, chapter 5. Hope you enjoy.


	6. Little Revenge

Chapter 6. as for the reviews, spelling errors were on part my comps fault, bad spell check.

On with the story.

Edward sat across from Allen on the train. They were bound for the European headquarters of the Black Order after having recovered from the event at the rewinding town.

"So, what do you think this place will be like?" asked Allen, absently rubbing his hand over his healed eye. There was a lingering sensation of pain left.

"I have no idea. For all I know we could be entering a rundown building in the east side. On the other hand, being a religious organization, it could be tall, black and gothic looking." Allen nodded, slightly confused.

They were told to go to the Black order after having recovered, but because they were not actual members, they had to find it themselves. A map was given, but besides that, no help was allowed.

The two sat and played cards, Edward and Allen cheating like the devil himself against each other. Their games were not so much about winning, but about how many times they could cheat in a row without getting caught.

Edward stared at his cards. If he had an ace, he would have a royal strait flush. With a grin, a small black hand slithered out of his sleeve, removing the ink and replacing it with an ace.

"Royal Straight flush!" cried Ed. Allen lowered his cards, proclaiming the same thing.

"How'd you do that!" exclaimed Allen, throwing his cards down and standing on his seat, pointing at Ed. He merely packed up the cards.

"I can't go revealing to you how I win at cards. You'll have to figure that out yourself." Allen slumped into the seat just as Ed deposited the cards back into his pocket. In the same move, he pulled out the silver pocket watch, looking at the face. With a frown he closed it with a click. Allen watched, studying the time keeper. Ed caught his gaze.

"Not yet. But soon," Ed said with a grin, slipping it back in.

A few more moments of silence. "So, how are you going to be a spy for the Earl?"

Edward smiled at that. "Well, it's quite ingenious. First, I need to explain what's happening with Komui. Then I'll smuggle information back to the Earl. It'll be tricky, but I'm sure I'll be able to work this out. If not, then I can always switch over. Course, then things get tricky." Allen nodded, brushing some white hair out of his eyes. He adjusted the headband, stuffing the lose strands back under the black fabric.

Finally the train pulled into the station, the steam whistle blared, announcing that the passengers that they should get the hell off or suffer.

Ed and Allen picked up their bags, not bothering to use the door, instead jumping out the window. Edward pulled out the map.

"Alright, according to this, we go north for a while before we come to a cliff." Ed grinned. In clear, bold underlined words, it said that going left a hundred feet would bring you to an elevator. Then again, Edward was going to have some fun.

"It says when we get there, only the worthy are allowed in. Part of that test is to climb the cliff." Allen paled. It wasn't good when he paled, his hair being white already.

"Ahh well, can't be worse than Teacher's climbs. She fired bullets at me to make me run faster." Ed shuddered. Of all people, she was the only one to scare him. Well, actually, most of the women he met were scary as hell. Teacher, Hawkeye, even Shezka with her towering stacks of books threatening to kill him.

They walked slowly, not in any hurry. After a few hours, they arrived at the tower.

"Hmm, the picture makes it look smaller," muttered Ed, glancing between the picture and a 90 degree angle upwards. Allen gulped.

"Well, to time like the present!" exclaimed Edward. He stuffed the map in his pocket, transmuted the straps of the bag around his chest and shoulders and began to climb the wall, using his stone hands to claw a half inch into the rock. Allen followed him, using the holes to provide purchase on the vertical surface.

After a solid two hours of climbing, Allen arrived at the top. There to greet him was Edward in a chair, sipping some iced tea.

"Glad you could make it. If I stuck to tradition, I'd be forced to kick you off and make you do it in half the time. But I'm not Teacher." Allen sighed with relief.

A flash of red eliminated the chair and drink, Edward ready with the bag slung over his shoulder. "Let's go!" He proceded at a light jog, leaving Allen hating his guts. Certainly because of him he was probably in the best physical shape of anyone alive, but still, he paled in comparison to Ed.

"Well, that's cool," muttered Edward to no one in particular, facing the giant face in between the two doors. Allen caught up, gaping at the door.

"So, how do we activate this thing?" asked Allen, taking a gulp of water. Ed pulled out the map.

"Let's see, stand 12 feet away from face, repeat lines, be scanned." He frowned.

"Alright, let's try this." Ed stated. "Gate Keeper! Open up! The lines were smudged! If you don't scan us and let us through I'll turn you into dust!" Allen frowned. Those were the lines?

At once, it came to life.

"NO! DON'T HURT ME! I'LL JUST BEGIN THE XRAY SCAN!" screamed the sudden lively and wimpy face. It's eyes turned into little crosshairs while yellow light shot out from both, scanning Edward and Allen.

"HMM? WHAT'S WRONG WITH THESE THINGS? I CAN'T GET A READING." There were a few seconds more before the yellow beams zeroed in on two things. First, the reverse pentacle on Allen's forehead. Due to it's... fearful nature... the gatekeeper identified him as being Akuma. But then it focused in on Edward.

The beam over Allen focused onto Edward. It narrowed until it was centered on his chest. On the screens inside, they could see something.

A pair of double doors, nestled in his bone and muscle. Smaller windows near that one let the science officers know that there was strange energy radiating from the object. Komui stared. "That's interesting, the energy is unlike anything we've ever seen," he muttered, staring at the screen. The other scientists were staring as well.

Then the gatekeeper flicked his vision back to Allen after verifying Edward was not an Akuma. Whether he was human or not was not his concern, but he wasn't Akuma.

"HE'S AN AKUMA! HE HAS THE MARK OF THE CURSED!" screamed the gatekeeper, shrinking away from Allen.

Edward was unsure, but something told him things were going to get difficult. Edward head a small thud form above.

Looking up, he almost cried.

It was Mustang, except with long, really long, blue hair and a sword.

"Your either really brave or really stupid to come here with only one sidekick," spoke the man.

Edward died a little on the inside, he even sounded like the man.

"I'll have you know, he's cursed and I'm not an assistant," yelled Ed, moving between the person and Allen. Allen saw no problem with this, seeing as he had a sword pointed at him. The man looked at Edward.

"I guess I'll start with you then," muttered the man. He dived forward, sword at the ready, preparing to kill the 'Akuma' known as Edward.

Kanda was about a meter away from Edward. Time stopped.

Literally, it stopped.

Everyone stopped breathing, the golems were recording at 100 frames a second, so it was only catching 1 frame of what Edward was doing for every 5 minutes of his time.

Ed smiled. He walked over to a large rock, picking it up with ease. He walked back and placed it in front of Kanda, right where his face should land. Then he grabbed the sword and sheath, sliding it back in and hanging it from a tree.

He resumed time.

The people on the screens were too shocked to breath. Kanda, the greatest Exorcist beneath a Marshal, who's natural ability to kill an Akuma was scary, had lost his sword and smacked face first into a rock, breaking his nose.

Kanda stood up slowly, not quite sure what happened, realizing that his sword was gone and he was streaming blood from his nasal cavities.

"What just happened?" asked Reever, watching the screens. Komui gaped. "He... he beat Kanda. He broke his nose and stole his sword." A quick replay revealed only one frame of recorded footage. The one frame where he had a giant rock in both hands.

Komui leaned over to a mike in the desk. "Gatekeeper, open the doors. Something tells me even if we tried, we wouldn't keep him out. Perhaps calling Kanda off would be a good idea." He clicked the button, sending a small signal to Kanda's earpiece. It was a small beep, barley making it through his mind that he was being called off. Something about being beaten before he could even react, and being separated from his sword had shocked him into this state.

The doors slid open, Edward and Allen scooting around Kanda, still in his dazed and bloody state. He blindly walked towards his sword, as if it was the light of god itself. Komui secretly recorded the footage, wanting to keep it for blackmail later.

Edward and Allen walked in, the great doors shutting closed on them, Kanda still walking about in a daze, not bothering to clean the blood off of his face.

[A.N.] There we go, chapter 6. Hope you liked it, I did. Nothing too action like, so to make up, and Omake!

OMAKE

Edward strolled through the halls of the black order, bored. He had been here for a month and he was bored as hell. Antagonizing Kanda was too frustrating, he reacted just like Mustang, nothing new there.

"I'll go check up on Allen, see how he's settling into his room," thought Edward aloud. He strolled through the halls, heading for Allen's room. Stopping, he wondered if he should knock.

"Nah, if it was locked, then I would knock. His fault." With that, he twisted the handel and opened the door.

In the corner was a heart shaped black and red door with gold frame. Across the floor were the torn fragments of clothing, and against the wall, the culprits.

Allen, missing his coat and shirt, had Road Kamelot pressed against the wall in mid kiss. She appeared to be missing her skirt and one of her leg length socks.

Both had wide eyes and were staring fearfully at Edward, who's eyes were wide as dinner plates.

"Umm," was all Edward could say.

A minute passed of this staring before something happened.

Ed slowly backed out, the door closing with a soft click. The sound of a bold lock, (so brand new it didn't even exist up until a second ago) reported that the door was now secure.


	7. The test

Chapter 7. Let's keep it going folks!

On with the story.

Edward walked through the doors of the Black Order, admiring the marble and architecture. It was a vast improvement from the outside's gothic and evil look.

Allen followed Edward, eyes roaming everywhere. He jolted to a stop when he collided with the back of Edward.

"Ahh! The new guys!" exclaimed a voice. Allen remembered it as Komui, the science dude with the drill.

He shivered, it was a painful medical treatment before Edward got there.

"Now, before we can call you exorcists, we need to give you a check up!" exclaimed the man. Ed frowned.

"What kind of check up?"

Komui frowned before smiling again. "Oh, we just need to make sure you're at peak physical health! Follow me please!" with that the white robed man with a funny hat walked off, heading down a hall. Edward followed, dragging Allen with him. When they got there, Allen underwent another painful check up, the giant drill slash needle already in his arm. Edward winced. All powerful he may be, but there were some tortuous things you didn't interfere with.

After a period of painful screams, Allen was done, Komui looking very pleased with himself.

"Now, on to you!" exclaimed Komui, aiming the drill at Edward. He raised his hands in defence. "Umm, I don't have parasitic innocence, in fact, I don't really need any treatment," stated Ed warily, backing up slowly.

In the end, it didn't matter, Edward's screams joined the walls like so many others.

Later, Edward and Allen plus one clinically insane scientist, were on a lift. Edward and Allen had pained looks on their faces, casting nervous glances at the insane man in front of them.

The lift slowly lowered on a magnetic field, before lights lit up seemingly several chairs above them. Black and yellow garbed figures sat in chairs.

"These are our bosses, they're here only here to see the new innocence. Helveska!" Ed turned around at the presence behind him, Allen responding the same. Years of his combat training had instilled some jumpy tendencies.

"I've brought these two here to be evaluated. Are they worthy Apostle's of God?" Ed snorted. Apostle's of god, really.

The white being reached towards Allen first with white tentacles, them wrapping around him and lifting him into the air.

She brought her head to his, touching it before voicing numbers.

"2 ... 33 ... 54 ... 69 ... 75... amazing... 83 ... 92 ... 94. Your Innocence syncro rate is 94 percent." There was a quite murmuring from the people above them, obviously commenting on the high synchronization rate.

Helveska put Allen down, him feeling slightly dizzy from the experience. The tentacles then moved, grasping Edward before he could protest. The same thing happened, her forehead touched. Yet the reaction was far different.

Red lightning danced around Edward, some bolts straying towards the orbs of innocence contained in the ancient Exorcist. The bolts turned green before returning towards Edward. Fuelled by their power, Edward felt something strange.

Flesh, growing over his metal limbs. Some metal receded deeper into the construction, but the unmistakable feeling of nerve filled flesh spread across his arm and leg. The metal structure provided the 'bone' while new flesh traveled, completing his body.

He wasn't even aware that he was back on the platform before there was a small slap on his cheek.

"Edward, you ok?" asked the voice of Komui. Edward shook his head.

"Yeh, I'm ok, just... just a little spaced out. What happened?" he asked, mildly confused.

"Well, after the green lightning appeared, Helveska just went off in a tangent about 'power incarnate' or something.

Komui faced the Exorcist. "Well, what is his syncro rate?" he asked. Edward noticed the people above them were leaning on the table, almost hanging from it.

Helveska, slowly, murmured her response. "His synchronization rate is beyond numbers." There was a gasp from the people above them as they settled back into their seats, somewhat hesitantly.

"Allen Walker, your Innocence will be the destroyer of time. Edward Hohenheim Elric," Ed's eyes shot up at the middle name. How did it know his middle name? "You... you already know." Edward nodded. Now everyone was flabbergasted.

"Well, those were certainly interesting! She's usually right about her prophecies, so I've great hopes for you Allen. As for you Edward, or should I say Marshall Elric, may I ask if it's a good prophecy that you have?"

Ed thought. "Yeh, It's good in the long run. That's all you need to know." Everyone accepted this answer

"Well, let's go get uniforms and rooms then!" He was met with a fist colliding with his strategically placed clipboard, impacting on Allen's fist.

It didn't last past Edward's though.

Komui sailed a good ten feet before hitting the side of the railing. Allen gaped at Edward. Edward gaped at the clipboard. It had held up surprisingly better than it should have.

Komui stood up, slightly dizzy on his feet. He pressed the up button, leaning against the railing, holding his head.

"Maybe... maybe I'll warn people..." he whispered to himself. The bosses above nodded in silent agreement.

The lift rose past them before returning to the lit area of the giant tower. Komui, now sporting a fairly large mark across the side of his face, guided the two of them off the platform.

"Alright, let's get you to your rooms. Uniforms should be there in a bit. This way," motioned Komui. Ed noticed that the man was prone to bruises because his eye was swollen shut and his face was a bright purple. A quick spark of red lightning flushed it away over the course of 5 minutes.

The first door they got to was black wood, non descript and bare. "The room is bare right now, but we can help outfit your room with things you might want. I'll let you rest." With that, Ed and Komui turned away, heading for the stairs.

The room that they stopped at was different. The door was the same dark wood, but had a cross on the front, signifying it as a Marshall's quarters.

"These are your quarters. They are spacious, but not too big. You won't be in it most of the time so it's only meant for your visits to the order." Edward nodded before opening the door, he transmuted the cross.

Purple light and red lightning filled the hallway, blinding Komui. When he looked back, he gaped. The cross was now an eye with pointed ends. A purple iris and a pupil so black it was like pitch glared at him.

"Komui, I need to have a word with you about my situation. Perhaps you would join me for a minute?" asked Ed, opening the door. He followed, curious about what the Marshall could want with him. When the door closed, Ed began.

"Now, as you are aware, the Noah are now involved with the war. The fact of the matter is my unique eye color has made it seem like I am a Noah. Figuring I wouldn't get this chance again, I went along with this idea. Currently the Earl and his family believe me to be the Noah of Truth, sent here undercover to provide them with a tactical advantage and possible spy."

Edward thought Komui took the news well. He wasn't screaming.

"In fact, I am on your side, but I decided that if I was on the inside of them, I could provide us with information on their movements, attacks, stuff like that. I probably should have thought it out more, but it was a spur of the moment."

Komui sat down in one of the chairs in the room.

"So... what?" he asked, still confused. Edward sweatdropped, explaining the situation again.

"So, you're basically telling me you're now a spy in the enemies command structure?" Ed nodded. "And you are providing them a tactical advantage?" Ed hesitantly shook his head.

"No, I'll be standing with the Order. But they don't know that." The scientist nodded. There was a knock at the door.

"_I've got a Marshall uniform for Marshall Elric," _shouted a voice. Edward walked over to the door. Opening it, he found a finder with a package wrapped in brown paper. "Your uniform sir," he said, saluting. Edward thanked the man, taking the package from the finder.

He closed the door, tossing the package on the bed, facing Komui. "So, I figured it would be good to notify you about the situation. This calls for me to leave suddenly. It's best that you know this ahead of time."

Komui nodded, a little shocked.

"Now, I'm going to put my uniform on, then probably go get something to eat. I suggest you keep this information to yourself, it could be dangerous in the wrong hands." With that, Ed shooed Komui out of his room, changing into his Exorcist uniform.

When he finished, he admired himself.

His boots were knee length black things, tight around his legs. His pants were a black fabric tough yet flexible. A skin tight undershirt followed, the material made to absorb sweat. A jacket fit over, gold trim all over with the exorcist logo over the heart. A quick red sparked turned that into a gold etched eye. Over it all was an ankle length black coat, trimmed in gold with a gold eye over the heart again. Gold tinted buttons ran the length, keeping it closed. On top, out of the materials of his old clothes, a hat was made. It was a fairly basic thing, meant to keep the water off his head and sun from his ears, but nothing more. Some gold trim adorned the edge, but besides that, nothing was on it. He stored his pocket watch in his jacket pocket, easy to reach. He quickly checked the face, muttering about the lack of time.

All in all, he looked pretty badass.

After a few hours of wandering around, Edward found his way to Komui's office.

"Ahh, Edward. I have one last thing I need to give you before you head out on your assignment." Komui brought out a brown lacquered box. Opening it, Edward saw an eye with wings.

"It's a communication's golem. It can record and play back conversations and receive messages from us or other exorcists." Ed nodded, picking up the golem. In a flash, he pulled out his pocket watch and slammed the golem into the side of it. A bright flash of red light filled the room. When it was done, there was only the watch left.

The phone rang. Slowly, Komui picked it up. Putting the receiver next to his ear, he could hear Edward's breathing from the watch.

He had combined his watch and the Golem. "It still works, but I find this will be far more convenient." Komui nodded. The Marshall's abilities defied explanation, but they worked. Innocence was like that.

Ed stuffed the watch back in his pocket. "So, what is my mission?" asked Ed, facing the science officer.

"Well, it's easy when it gets right down to it. You'll be carrying three pieces of Innocence for now around on your travels. Your job is to find Innocence accomadators." Ed nodded, already familiar with the terminology.

"Also, You'll be expected to fight Akuma as you find them. Unless you get radioed for something then you just roam around."

Ed nodded. Fairly simple. Wander, free the soul bonds, find people who can use Innocence, what Ed considered the cheap way of transmuting a soul free.

Taking a briefcase from Komui, Edward opened it, revealing three glowing orbs.

[A.N.] There you go, chapter 7. Not really great, I'm considering doing a time skip of gargantuan proportions. Let me know in the reviews. First three votes for either yes or no wins.


	8. Author Note folks

Alright, I forgot to remember to clarify on what I meant when I said I was going to skip a chunk. By that I mean I'm going to be skipping the Krory Arc, the Lala arc, a few of the arcs that take up half the show. I'll probably be skipping to Barcelona, Spain, but I'm not sure. When you vote, leave a note where you would prefer it to skip to. So far I have:

Barcelona

The boat ride to Edo

Please vote, It would help. I just don't feel like devoting that much time into stuff that will proceed as canon. You want to watch it, go watch the show, think of Ed and cut the arcs to 30 seconds.


	9. Forces of Power

Well, here we have it folks, chapter 8, not including the Author Note. Now, due to popular demand, I'm racing ahead to the Barcelona part of D Gray Man. Just because I don't feel like spending the next few weeks of my life on canon + Edward.

So I'll treat you to a lengthy summary of what's been going on.

Edward has been traveling around, using his Tie as a Noah to garner information for the Black Order. On the flip side, he's been supplying somewhat inaccurate information to the Earl about the Order's movements.

His movements across the globe had attracted the attention of both groups in general. Only a few exorcists knew he was actually on both sides. For the most part, he was known as Marshall Elric. Those same people knew him as a different person, never making the connection.

They knew him as the Noah of Truth, or 'Truth' for short. A monstrous being with skin harder than diamond and black as night with red lines all over, demonic pinprick white eyes staring down at you as he attacked. Powers beyond comprehension, people feared 'Truth.'

Now, one thing to remember is that he is not quite up to date on specific people, but instead only knows what's been going on in general. He knows that a new Exorcist, Krory has joined the ranks.

He's currently somewhere in Italy, in a mountainous region. That's where we start off.

On with the story.

Edward sat in front of the fire, opening and closing his pocket watch. Every time he glanced at the face, he clicked it shut, muttering about the lack of time. While it was closed, he watched the firelight dance off the side, painting the clean polished silver orange.

With a sigh, he placed it back in his pocket, taking a bite out of the sandwich.

Technically he didn't need to eat, the object in his chest providing him his bodily needs, but old habits die hard. That and he got vicious hunger pains.

The fire had burnt down to small flames and coals, but Edward didn't feel like starting it back up again. Tilting his hat over his eyes he fell into sleep, plagued with his future.

VIVANEWVEGAS

He awoke to his watch buzzing. Popping his hat up, he noticed the sun was high in the sky. His watch buzzed again. Sighing, he pulled it out and spoke.

"Hello, Marshall Elric here, who am I speaking to?"

"_This is Section Chief Reever speaking."_

"Hello Reever, what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" Ed was of course being sarcastic. He was tired.

"_We have gotten word of an Akuma invasion of Barcelona Spain. Due to the unlikelyness of this, Komui has asked for you to confirm."_

Ed nodded. "Sure, I'll check it out. I'll report back in the usual manner when I find out. Marshall Elric out." He clicked the watch closed, severing the connection.

Leaning against his 'bed' or rock, he sighed. Sometimes the double agent job really tired him out. Standing up, he brushed his coat off, using a quick flash of Alchemy to remove any dirt ground into it.

In front of him from beneath a red rectangle rose a grey stone set of double doors, a tree with unfamiliar language to all but Edward written on it. They opened with a groan, unknown depths of blackness inside. Edward strolled in like it was a sunny day on the other side.

When he emerged, he was in a dark room, dominated with a new wood table. A few people jumped at his appearance while the Akuma took a step back. They didn't want to become fuel for table disposel.

"Ahh, Truth, glad you could come!" exclaimed the elderly fat man. Edward took his place at the table, two to the left from the Earl.

"Good evening. I originally didn't have any intent on coming, but I heard a rumour that your attacking Barcelona, Spain?" Ed left the question to hang in the air, looking at the faces of gathered Noah.

There was Road, smiling at something. Skinn, trying to get as far away from the egg in front of him as possible. Tiki was smoking and the rest were empty seats.

"Hmm, those Exorcists are good when it comes to information, I'll give them that," replied Tiki offhandedly.

Ed nodded. "So, for appearances I'll take the Exorcist's side for this battle, but I'll come in late. Maybe an hour after you begin?" There was a nod from the Earl.

"So, since that's over with, I'll let them know later. For now, what's been going on with the rest of my family?" asked Edward, leaning back in his chair.

"Hmm, I've killed a few people, got stripped to my boxers in a poker match a while ago, the usual," replied Tiki, taking a drag on his ever present cigarette.

"I've eaten sweats, killed, umm." Skinn left it there. He didn't do much. Ed had learned he had more brain power than Sloth. Marginally.

"I've been doing the usual, reviving lost souls for my army. Laid out plans for moving day, not much else." The Earl took a bite of the egg before him, sliding it away while gently putting the spoon down. Everyone simultaneously looked at Road.

"We don't know what's been up with her. She's been disappearing randomly lately. Has that happy look to her face." There was some silence, the spiky blue haired girl not noticing everyone's stares.

"Alright, maybe she broke somebody's mind and it was a toughie." The family nodded, accepting this answer for now.

"Now, I've been wandering about. I found a fragment of Innocence, blew it up nicely before continuing on. Earl, I killed a few level 2's for an Order mission near the border of Italy. Nothing important since last time."

Ed's gaze wandered over to Road again, taking note of her appearance. Her hair was slightly ruffled but otherwise normal. Clothes looked clean, tie... tied. Wait a minute...

"Road?" called Edward. Nothing. "Rooaad!" yelled Edward, slamming his hand on the table. This jolted Road out of her trance.

She frowned. "What?" she asked coldly. Ed grinned, leaning back again.

"Why's your left sock inside out?" Her eyes widened, body stiffened and her mouth made an 'O' shape. Faster than most saw, she bolted out of the room.

Silence.

"Well, I'll leave that to your imaginations then. Good day," finished Edward. Standing up, he walked towards his gate that was still standing. The doors groaned opened, quiet whispers and hands drew forth, wrapping around him in familiarity.

The doors closed, leaving the family to glare at the stupid Akuma who added far too much salt into the eggs.

VIVANEWVEGAS

Edward stepped out of his Gate, glancing with distaste at that state of his fire.

Cold, with what smelled like animal piss on his rock. Greaaaat.

"Well, that answers whether I'm moving out or not," he muttered. Turning south towards Barcelona, he began walking. There was a large amount of distance to cover if he was going to be there to fight Akuma.

VIVANEWVEGAS

Edward ran up the hill, heading for the sounds of hundreds of thousands of Akuma assaulting Barcelona. While he knew it was to kill the Exorcist Teidoll, who was in fact on his way there, a bit of a 'translation' error occurred, he didn't expect the screaming of people to be so loud.

Cresting the hill, he paled.

Fire rose from building, most of which were crumbling or gone. The outer walls were obliterated, lit up only by a few containment fields holding a few level ones.

"Well, time to get to work," he said quickly, muttering a quick verse in the language of the gate.

The air shifted, pulsing as the verse was spoken. Ed smiled.

Yanking out his pocket watch, he sent out a call.

"This is Marshall Elric. I'm providing assistance to those finders and Exorcists still alive. If possible, get under cover, but make sure you watch the skies." Not waiting for confirmation he clicked it shut.

The air pulsed again. Ed's smile grew almost insane.

"_Draconas, Exode, Drema!" _shouted Edward into the sky, speaking the language of the gate into the mortal world, where It should never be spoken.

At once, the air pulsed again. The difference was that a purple dot appeared above him. it grew into a line, tracing a 3 dimensional rectangle in the sky, 400 feet across. It finished by dividing the rectangle into two smaller ones, 200 feet wide each.

He opened his watch. "Gate Squadron, destroy the souls that rightfully belong to the Gate." Clicking it shut, he finished the words.

"_Kidala!"_

The doors swept open, revealing blackness within. A low rumble filled the air, getting closer as the objects within got closer to the portal. He began to let lose a low insane chuckle as the objects flew out.

P90 Mustangs flew forth, battle damage coated in black 'gate flesh' as he knew it. From what Edward knew, they came from another world, something about a war fought across most of the central world. 'Axix powers vs Allied.' He wasn't sure on the specifics, it didn't concern him as of this moment.

Either way, twenty of them flew forth, charging at the Akuma with their mission from Hell.

The whine of their engines caught the attention of Akuma, Finders, Exorcists and the single Noah all looked up, or East depending if you were in the sky.

The chatter of alchemical machine guns ripped into the air, red bullets tearing forth from the wings, carving their way into the ranks of Akuma.

From the gate more aircraft spilled forth, this time three modified b29 flying fortresses. The 'modification' was more downward pointed guns and bomb bays, curtosy of the gate. They unleashed alchemical fury against the level two's on the ground. Finders cheered as Akuma were shredded like paper. They ducked, but continued when the bombers let loose their payload on the ground based level twos.

Tiki looked up, astonished at what was going on. Flying objects were tearing apart the Earl's precious creations at a rate faster that he could create them.

He was glad Edward was on their side.

He jumped to the left as an Akuma part landed where he was standing. "In the long run I suppose," he finished.

He strolled calmly away from his location, having finished with the Exorcist and his strange ball he walked through buildings, heading for Road's gate.

That brought another thought. She had been acting weird these days. She was more and more into her trance like states. His thoughts got back on track when he saw the door. Smiling, shaking a few embers of burning Innocence from his hands, he walked into the Ark.

After the aircraft had finished destroying Akuma and claiming those souls in limbo, they flew back into the portal. As the last super fortress exited this dimension, the doors flashed out of existence, leaving smoke laden sky.

[A.N.] There you go, chapter 8. Hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
